Miss University of Miami Pageant.

Teetering high heels, sparkly dresses, hot rollers and … scholarships?

The Miss University of Miami pageant is more than the typical contest of looks and how one’s legs look in a bikini, but instead a scholarship pageant full of talented women.

The Miss UM pageant is affiliated with Miss America and the winner goes on to compete for Miss Florida, and may ultimately be in the Miss America pageant.

This year, 15 beautiful ladies cascaded to the main stage of Gusman concert hall. The show started off with a shimmy and the contestants performed a group opening number and introduced themselves. The competition had begun.

The contestants were judged by a panel of five judges, on lifestyle and fitness, artistic expression (talent) and presence and poise with an on-stage question. With talent having the most weight and the on-stage question the least.

Talents this year ranged from dancing to singing and other unique talents. Some memorable talents included saxophone performances, vocal performances, acting, dancing, spoken word and an exhibit of handmade garments.

“It’s definitely would be called the crazy, amazing life of Azah,” answered Azah Awasum, contestant number 10, when she was asked about what a reality TV show about her life would be called on stage.

Other contestants were asked about female empowerment, their platforms, which are charities that they support and about other causes and current events, that was picked out of a fishbowl that was onstage. The contestants also had to model formal wear and gracefully waltzed around the stage showing the judges, and the audience members, their poise and confidence.

The formalwear portion of the pageant is the contestant’s last chance to impress the judges. After the last contestant walks off the stage the judge’s scores are tallied up and complied into a top five. The scores are based on the categories and each girl is given a number from one to ten, with the highest and lowest score thrown out then averaged.

After the long wait for the results the judges are given the list of the top five girls and then they rank them from one to five based on their entire performance. This process is lengthy and left the audience and the hostesses, Ke’ala Kamalu and Jaife Calil, grasping for things to chat about during the break.

After the final vote was tallied the contestants were brought back up on the stage and the winners were announced. The scholarships ranged from $100 for the fourth runner-up to $1000 for the winner.

The names were read one-by-one until it was down to junior Azah Awasum and freshman Victoria Humphrey. Cheers erupted when Humphrey was announced as the winner of scholarship pageant.

“I was so excited and so much in shock I couldn’t believe it,” gushed Humphrey about her win. “What a better way to start off the year at a new school than to participate in the Miss UM pageant.”



This story was written for the 2011 Ibis Yearbook, the yearbook will be printed and distributed in the Fall 2011 semester.